Resources and strengths that Pittsburg State University can offer The Morning Sun — Pittsburg’s newspaper since 1887 — will help prop it up at a time when newspapers across the country are folding.
Josh Letner, who graduated from Pitt State in 2009 and 2010, went on to a career in the radio and newspaper industry and earned awards for his coverage of the May 22, 2011, tornado in Joplin. He taught in the Communication Department for four years and since 2017 has overseen the publication of the university’s student newspaper and yearbook.
Starting Sept. 1, the Pittsburg native will fill a gap left at the Sun by the departure of the paper’s general manager, Justin Crain, who had been serving in an interim capacity.
Amy Sawyer, who graduated from Pitt State in 2007, was active on her high school newspaper and yearbook staff in Winfield, and has a passion for community journalism.
Today, she serves as a small business advisor at the Small Business Development Center located at Block22 and is spearheading a business plan for the Sun to help it find its way forward.
Struggles
The once daily and robust newspaper has gone through tumultuous times over the past decade, having once been locally owned, then bought up by a conglomerate, then sold to another conglomerate, then sold again. Subscriptions and advertising declined as both readers and advertisers turned to social media.
But social media doesn’t send reporters to meetings or analyze hot-button issues, nor is it guaranteed to go directly to a local reader’s hands every day, thanks to unpredictable algorithms.
Two years ago, a group of local families stepped in with personal financial investments to save the paper. It hasn’t been easy: costs to produce newspapers, including newsprint, ink, and production costs, continue to rise. It’s now printed in Tulsa, which means press deadlines are much earlier.
The Sun has held on despite the odds, publishing Tuesday through Saturday and being delivered by mail. On any given day, it features a mix of business and education news, light features, arts, athletics, investigative reporting, obituaries, and photos of community events.
“You can’t have a strong community culture without strong shared stories, and you can’t have a strong civic culture without the accountability in local government — school boards and city and county commissions — that comes from the presence of a local newspaper,” said Shawn Naccarato, who leads a university division called Research + Economic and Community Development.
That division includes a collection of resources based at Block22 known as The Foundry. Among those resources: the Small Business Development Center, which helps businesses like the Sun with business analysis, strategic plans, marketing advice, and more.
“The tools we have at our disposal, the resources that we can connect businesses like The Morning Sun with — those can make the difference between a business succeeding or failing,” Naccarato said.
Losing local news
A report published in November 2023 by Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications found there are about 6,000 newspapers left in America. In 2005, there were 8,891.
